Improvement in bullet-molds



llNrTED STATES llaTnNiT @erica TRISTRAM CAMPBELL AND HENRY B. POORMAN,OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

' IMPROVEMENT iN comer-:Morea Specification forming part of LettersPatent No. E 6,3227., dated January 6, 1857,

.T0 @ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Beit known that we, TRIs'rRAM CAMPBELL and HENRY B. PooRMAN, of the cityof St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis and State of Missouri, haveinvented a new and Improved Bullet-Mold; and we do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal elevation. Fig. 2shows a plan when the machine is open. Fig. 3 is a cross-section throughA, and Fig. 4 shows a plan of the machine when the molds are closed.

The nature of our invention consists in the mechanical arrangement ofthe feed and cutter bar, which I term the trough-knife, with the levers,springs, and rods by which the moldbars are operated, as will behereinafter set forth7 by which the molds are filled, separated from thewaste, and the bullets discharged in a better manner than in ordinarymachines of this character.

The construction and operation of our in- `vention are as follows:

A A A is the frame.

l5 B B B are the moldbars in which the bullets are cast. rlhe ends ofthese bars are made to work freely into parallel slots in the frame ofthe machine, and are connected to each other and to the frame by meansof sliding links, so that they can be opened and shut with facility.

E E are the parallel horizontal guides upon which the mold-bars are madeto work. Under the heads and nuts of these guides are placed expandingpieces, as shown at F. These pieces are placed into recesses in theframe, so as to lit on their sides or edges, and so as to have cnd-play,by which the 1noldbars are allowed to expand and contract with freedom.rIhe mold-bars are made to open by the action of the spring C, which isconnected to them by ,means of the rods P P, and they are closed by theaction of the lever D, which operates upon them through the medium ofthe rod G, to which it is connected. The spring I is designed todistribute the power applied to-thev rod G equally along the wholelength of the mold-bars, so as to make thenrclose as tight at .the endsas in the center.

J is the perforated trough-knife, into which the melted lead is poured,and through which it runs into the molds. rIhere are as many holes inthe trough-knife as there are molds in the bars, and each one of them iscountersunk in the top, so as to form a sharp edge on the bottom side,thus making this single instrument answer the double purpose of a troughto receive the lead and a knife to l separate it from the bullets orshot. The bottom side of the knife is ground to a perfectly smoothsurface, and is 'made to work closely on the top of the molds by theaction of the steel bars K K, which are designed to act as springs tokeep it down. One end of the trough-knife is attached to the link L,which vibrates around the center M, and the other cud is attached to theend of the lever N, which has its fulerum at O, and by which the knifeisv worked diagonally over the moldbars, not on a direct diagonal line,but so that a point on the center of the knife will describe a curve ofdouble curvature across the face of the bars, thus producing a slidingor twisting cut of the knife.

In each one of the moldbars we make a groove, so that when two bars areput t0- gether the grooves shall form a tube the whole length of thebar. rlhis tube is made a short distance below the molds, andcommunicates with them by a small vent-hole, by which the air escapeswhen the lead is poured in. The arrangement is shown on the drawings atQ.

Let the machine bein the position shown at Fig. l, the lead is poured inthe trough until the molds are full. rIhe lever N is then brought downto the position shown at Fig. 2, by which the necks of the bullets arecut off. The lever D is then detached from a catch on the segment R, andthe spring C throws the mold-bars open, which allows the bullets to dropout. rEhe waste lead is then thrown from the trough-knife, and theoperation is repeated, and so on. W`e design using as many mold-bars asin our judgment may be necessary, and of making in them as many molds ofsuch size and shape as we may deem desirable.

2 www XVe make no claim to the series of parallel springs C and I,operating its hereiubefore set mold-bars, as such is not new; neithe'i'do we forth. claim the separation of the waste-lead by the movement ofthe Qlate through' which lche i molten lead is poured; but U Ve'claim asnew and of oui1 own invention- Witnesses: rlhe mechanical arrangement ofthe trough- AMOS BROADNAX, knife J with the levell D7 draw-bar G, andJAMES CORNWELL.

